Next bike

Newest member of the family!

To replace my Rose Xeon RS.
A 2015 Genesis Volare 853. Built up with Ultegra 11 speed group and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels.

New Addition

Here is my new baby! It's a Peugeot PH8M from around 1980-83 (anyone have any ideas?).

Every now and again, Ebay comes up trumps and I found this being sold by a chap who wanted a winter hack but when he picked this up realised this was too nice and so sold it on to me after replacing the tubes and regreasing various parts!

As you can see, it is virtually mint, with only a slight amount of pitting on the chrome rims. I'm aware that in it's time, this model was pretty low spec but I'm loathed to modify such a lovely machine!

The bike came with an ancient saddlebag full of old bits including a huge Sanyo speedo (21 miles on the clock) one of those continental horseshoe wheel locks and a rusty old bell that has polished up quite well after rubbing with some tin foil and then T Cut.

Final Thoughts

·      If I had more time, it would be nice to take more time and see more of the country. There were times that I felt slightly pressured to carry on to reach my destination in good time. On the other hand, I could have done the journey quicker, it just depends on what you want to achieve. I tried to get a balance of a physically challenging ride and enjoying the countryside on the way up.

·      I found it very useful to book accommodation in advance. As I had arranged to be at the end on a certain day, having a target to aim for each day helped with motivation.

·      Use B&B’s not hotels. Every one is different and you will meet some great people. Most were like a home from home which is what you want after a long ride.

·      Using the gps was great. I plotted all my routes before I left but there were a couple of times where I changed my plans and it helped me to find a different route.

·      Don’t stick rigidly to routes if you fancy a change.

·      Treat each day as a separate ride. If you look at it as one ride, it does seem quite daunting!

·      Split each day down so always somewhere to aim for. I split each day into 3 or 4 parts so that I had between 20 and 30 miles between stops where I could refuel.

·      Pack as light as you can, I took no spare cycling kit, washing it each evening. My luggage fitted in a 11 litre Vaude rack bag and weighed 4 kg

·      Write a diary at the end of each day otherwise you will forget all the little things along the way that make the journey so special.

·      Don’t underestimate what you can achieve but also respect the importance of preparation and training.

·      I completed ride on a single speed On One Pompino running a 48x18 gear. Running a geared bike would have been easier (obviously) but if you have trained for such a ride, one gear was usually enough. It is lighter, quieter, stronger and less to go wrong (and therefore less spares to carry). If I was to carry camping gear too, a geared bike would be much more sensible (or a lower geared single speed!)

• Finally, I am hugely grateful for all the support, donations, offers of meals, places to stay and overall generosity of  everyone involved in helping me accomplish this ride.  
• 
  
• THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU!!!

Day 10 Inverbrora, Highlands-John O’Groats, Caithness

Friday morning had arrived! The final chapter in what had been a long and tough 10 days.

I set off a little later than planned as we got talking to the other couple that had been staying that night. They lived in a houseboat in Burton on Trent and were travelling round Scotland whilst it was being repainted.

I left at 9.30 following the A9 north. The south westerly wind I had enjoyed yesterday had unfortunately disappeared and had been replaced with a steady drizzle but that wouldn’t dampen my spirits.

There are 2 infamous climbs on this last section of the end to end route, Helmsdale and Berridale. So far, I hadn’t had to get off and push once so I was going to make sure it didn’t happen today either. Helmsdale itself wasn’t too bad although there was a much longer hill out of Navidale that I found more tiring than the shorter sharp hill in Helmsdale itself. On the approach to Berridale, I was faced with a huge downhill from about 600ft down to 14ft above sea level. The opposite side of the valley consisted of a series of switchbacks that went on for around half a mile. Just as I thought I was at the top, another rise would appear. I did feel a bit better when I passed 2 other LEJOGers who were on fully geared road bikes with no luggage. I saw their support car on the previous day by Deephaven and I was to pass it again several times today aswell. I gave them a friendly hello as I went passed but I’m sure they weren’t very happy about being overtaken! Dunbeath threw another long hill at me, but after that the gradients calmed down a bit and I was left alone with the wild and desolate rain soaked landscape.

Wick was the final landmark of the journey, about 20 miles from John O’Groat’s. On entering the town, it was strange to see an Argos, Pets at Home and Tesco so far from civilisation (maybe not the latter), I could have been back home if I’d half closed my eyes.

Just after Wick, Mum and Dad passed me and gave me a wave. I knew I was on the final straight and was counting the miles down. I started thinking back over the journey I had made. Cornwall seemed so long ago, meeting Tim in gloriously flat Somerset, cycling 220 miles in a weekend with my uncle and aunty and being grateful that my fall didn’t meant the end of my ride or worse. Sometimes I see a map of the UK (especially when watching the weather forecast!) and think ‘how did I cycle all that way?’ On 1 hand it is, by any measure, quite a long way to cycle but the UK is also a wonderfully compact country. At the end of each day, the countryside, buildings and accents were different and I feel privileged to have been able to sample all of this in such an intimate way.

As I crested the last hill and rolled into John O’Groat’s, I thought about everything I had been through but also why I had done this and my 10 days of hard work does seem insignificant in comparison to the strength and courage my sister Jen and other cancer sufferers have to show week after, month after month, year after year.

Needless to say, it was raining as I entered the most northerly car park in the UK. I headed towards the iconic signpost where we took a few pictures before taking shelter in one of the cafes.

After a drink and half a rock bun, we left John O’Groat’s and headed south. After cycling constantly for 10 days, it felt strange being driven in the car and not having to put in physical effort to make progress! I liked it.

64.9 miles, 3 hours, 54 minutes, average 16.61 mph, 5426ft of ascent

Total: 886.1 miles, 56 hours 3 minutes, average 15.79 mph, 51,837ft of ascent

Day 9 Inverness, Highlands-Inverbrora, Highlands

I awoke on the penultimate morning very worried that I wouldn’t be able to move. Fortunately I didn’t feel too bad (good old red wine) and my hands certainly felt a little better.

Getting my now holey cycling kit on proved quite slow and painful but after hobbling downstairs, I said my goodbyes and slowly headed out over the Kessock bridge, following the cycle track. Although this was slower, today was my shortest day so wasn’t in a rush and I wasn’t quite ready to mix it up with the traffic until my body had loosened up a bit. 

Strangely, I found today one of the best. This was down to a combination of factors including flat and beautiful terrain and also not having the pressure of completing another century ride, only 58 miles today.

The wind was also in my favour for most of the day and I crossed over the Cromarty Firth and the beautiful Dornoch Firth where I stopped briefly for a drink and flapjack. From here, I followed the coast up past Loch Fleet, Golspie and Dunrobin Castle. From there it was only a few miles to my destination at Inverbrora.

I found a note on the door of the B&B telling me to go to the sheepshed if there was no answer. This I did and I was welcomed by a very English farmer who showed me round the B&B. My first priority was to test out the 6ft bath that I think proved to be the best bath I have ever had. I lay there and soothed my knee, feeling relieved that I only had 1 single day of cycling to go!

Later on, I made the 10 minute walk into Brora for another good meal, this time chicken stuffed with haggis! The evening was wonderfully calm and peaceful as we walked home and I fell asleep listening to the cows and sheep in the surrounding fields.

58.4 miles, 3 hours 38 minutes, average 16.03 mph, 3431ft of ascent